Potamogeton crispus responses to varying water depth in morphological plasticity and physiological traits

Submerged macrophytes, important primary producers in shallow lakes, play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem structure and function. By altering a series of environmental factors, especially light intensity, water depth has great influences on growth of submerged macrophytes. Here, by hanging pots statically at water depths of 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, and 220 cm, respectively, we investigated effects of water depths on morphological plasticity and physiological traits of Potamogeton crispus. At 40 and 60 cm water depths versus other water depths, P. crispus showed lower plant height, larger stem diameter, thicker leaves, and smaller leaf area, leaf length, and specific leaf area. With water depth increasing, the plant height, leaf area, and leaf length gradually increased until 160 cm water depth, while the stem diameter and leaf thickness gradually decreased until 200 cm water depth. In comparison, the plant height, leaf length, and leaf number significantly decreased when the water depth further increased to 180–220 cm. The leaves contained lower concentrations of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase at 100–160 cm water depth, and lower catalase concentrations at 40–140 cm water depth, especially at 80–100 cm. In shallow waters, the concentration of chlorophyll a and b in leaves were both lower, while the ratio of chlorophyll a to b was relatively higher. As the water depth of 40–220 cm, the chlorophyll a and b concentrations increased significantly with increasing water depth, while their ratio gradually decreased. The present study provides new insights into the adaptation strategies of submerged macrophytes to the variation in water levels, and our findings are beneficial for ecosystem construction and management.